By Daniel C. Dennett - Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind (Expanded and Updated) (2015-05-16) [Paperback]

by Daniel C. Dennett

What is it like to be a preacher who can no longer believe the creed?

In confidential interviews, clergy reveal how their lives of service are overshadowed by hypocrisy, as they contemplate taking a leap from their faith. As religious leaders struggle to adapt to the new transparency of the information age, the phenomenon of non-believing clergy portends surprising developments in the future of religious belief.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Atheism, Spirituality, Science, Ebooks

Unknown Binding

First published November 26, 2013

About the author

Daniel Clement Dennett III was a prominent philosopher whose research centered on philosophy of mind, science, and biology, particularly as they relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He was the co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies and the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. Dennett was a noted atheist, avid sailor, and advocate of the Brights movement.

Dennett received his B.A. in philosophy from Harvard University in 1963, where he was a student of W.V.O. Quine. In 1965, he received his D.Phil. from Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied under the ordinary language philosopher Gilbert Ryle.

Dennett gave the John Locke lectures at the University of Oxford in 1983, the Gavin David Young Lectures at Adelaide, Australia, in 1985, and the Tanner Lecture at Michigan in 1986, among many others. In 2001 he was awarded the Jean Nicod Prize, giving the Jean Nicod Lectures in Paris. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Fulbright Fellowship, and a Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Science. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987. He was the co-founder (1985) and co-director of the Curricular Software Studio at Tufts University, and has helped to design museum exhibits on computers for the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Science in Boston, and the Computer Museum in Boston. He was a Humanist Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism and a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Reviews

[Ginger Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book synopsis: Christian and Jewish clergy discover that the Holy Bible is just an anthology of ancient woo-woo. Cover-ups ensue.

Eventually, some give up looking for deeper meaning in _The Goat Herder's Guide to the Universe_* and defect to atheism (*credit to Seth Andrews for this description).

But they wonder about the colleagues they left behind, most of whom know the same things they know -- because seminaries (non-fundamentalist ones, anyway) require students to learn about Bible archaeology and history. Not to mention theology, where the dense obscurantism often puts post-modernists to shame. (One ex-Catholic priest says he didn't think much about the theology he'd been taught in seminary until he had to face questions from parishioners. "It wasn’t until I got to the parish giving these same answers that I realized, 'Boy, what bullshit!' There was a difference hearing myself give these answers to people who were genuinely asking. I felt like a fraud.")

How many clergy are closet non-believers? No one knows because the tacit policy is "don't ask, don't tell." Many seem to suspect their fellow clergy, but they don't feel free to share doubts among themselves (and certainly not with the people in the pews). The result? As one of the authors says about the clergy interviewed for this book, "In spite of their professional obligation to immerse themselves in the social world, or maybe because of it, they strike us as the loneliest people we have ever encountered."

Fortunately, doubting clergy can now contact The Clergy Project for support. It's an organization for religious professionals who no longer believe in the supernatural (confidentiality is strictly enforced, so there's minimal danger that members will be outed). The Clergy Project has grown to over 1000 members -- and most of them say they're only the tip of an iceberg of unbelief. 

[Stephie Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fine book and for the most part very interesting. I've always liked Daniel Dennett's work and ideas, although I had never read anything by Linda Lascola, but that might be because she hadn't written any books before now.

I must say I felt for some of the ministers in the book. I kind of understand how hard it must be for them, but I do wish they could come out because I think that would really help other nonministers to shake the shackles of their beliefs and become atheist themselves.

I believe atheism is such a freeing view point.

There is one point I would like to comment on. One of the ministers said that he lost the arena in which to discuss ethics or morals because of what I strongly belief is a very wrong notion that the religion provides a good forum to talk about ethics. I Believe this to be very wrong. If anything I think religion, especially the monotheistic ones, stifles most debate about morality. It more often than not just dictates what it claims, very dubiously, about ethics.

Sorry about the mini rant, but I would recommend the book to anyone.

[Jason Barnum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book! Especially good for those going through a faith crisis.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book helpful and interesting, though shorter than I expected, it only took me a day to read, I am sure there is more could have been added, but I appreciated the methodology and the reflection offered. There was a genuine kindness in the tone of the book. The participants were given a compassionate uncensored space in which to share their difficult journey, and the many verbatim extracts from their interviews are absorbing and challenging. They will resonate for many clergy who find themselves questioning the very thing their livelihoods, relationships and identities depend upon. It is tough walking the line between integrity and necessity, wondering what kind of person that makes you. And it is hard to contemplate stepping away from people you love and a community where you know you are making a positive contribution.

I suppose the book is least understanding towards liberal Christians who embrace the myth and mystery of their faith without falling into literalism or exclusive dogma. I think there is a huge amount of creative scope for liberal clergy to help build mutually supportive and outward looking communities around shared values and spiritual stories. But I do tend to share a deep frustration with those clergy who continue to use all the traditional religious language, assuming that people who walk into their churches will all somehow know that nothing means what it sounds like it means, and they will not be harmed by it. That does my head in!! I spent many years trying to remove language of unworthiness, shame, guilt, blame, exclusion, dominating power and anything 'supernatural' (whatever that means) from the services I led, but it is impossible at the end of the day to prevent people from still hearing what they think they know the church believes, if that is where they are. I found it exasperating constantly to be associated with views I found abhorrent. I feel very liberated these days, I can weigh up my own thoughts and am not required to deliver them to anyone in acceptable parcels.

[Mehrsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating concept, but not quite sure about the execution. There are a lot of stitched together stories about people who have lost faith while serving in an ecclesiastical function. There wasn't enough reflection in between the stories or really any broader points beyond the difficulties and some of the freedoms involved in a loss of faith. I love Dennett's theoretical work and I guess I was hoping for more analysis. Still, I really enjoyed the book and found the voices of the people to be totally relatable.

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really opened my eyes to the incredible turmoil that disenchanted clergy endure when emancipated from their faith. I can't imagine what it is like to immerse yourself into a life's work where friends and family define you by your role in proselytising a belief that you no longer hold true. Living that kind of lie can be easy for some, excruciatingly disingenuous for others. After reading this book it becomes blatantly obvious that this is an extremely important topic that has not received much acknowledgement or support... until now.

With "The Clergy Project", Dan Dennett and Linda LaScola are providing a much needed service, with an anonymous website where religious leaders in various stages of questioning their faith can share feelings and stories with others going through similar doubts. The respect and compassion that resonates throughout the pages of 'Caught in The Pulpit' tell personal stories of those theists who have discovered through their theological studies and life experiences that they no longer belief in the literal word of God, and secretly seek a way to relieve themselves of the cognitive dissonance that stems from acting out a life that they no longer believe is true. It finishes with a nice touch; a personal account from each author on how they came to be involved with the project.

"Are you a religious professional who no longer holds to supernatural beliefs? Have you remained in vocational ministry, secretly hiding away your non-belief? Are you struggling over where to go from here with your life and career? Welcome to The Clergy Project."

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how interesting I found this book by Dan Dennett and Linda LaScola. Two-thirds of the text reports verbatim responses from the study participants with the balance being the authors' explanation and commentary. The authors are careful in the preface to disclaim scientific validity due to the relatively small sample size (about three dozen).
Most of the respondents were interesting - some of their stories were fascinating - and I was utterly disgusted by the significant number who'd chosen to stay in the pastorate until retirement without believing what they were preaching and teaching. The reasoning was all some version of 'I'm too invested in my pension plan to stop now.'
The clergy participants in the study covered the spectrum of Christian ministry - liberal to literal - Catholic, Mormon, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Church of Christ, Episcopal, Seventh Day, Lutheran, Presbyterian. . The seeds of doubt were all planted in seminary and if you aren't familiar with Bible history or Biblical criticism I'd suggest starting with Bart Ehrman or Bishop John Shelby Song.

[Mike Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does anybody else skip writing reviews to spend more time reading? (this is my 105th book read of the year and first review) I am so very guilty of that, and here is my attempt to change my habits.

This book wasn’t what I was expecting from one of the touted “New Atheists”, Daniel Dennett. The books subtitle “Leaving Belief Behind” really gave the message that it was along the lines of Richard Dawkins “The God Delusion” Or Dennett’s own “Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon”. (Actually, as a side note, I have read both lately, and found that the Dawkins offering is a whole lot more mocking in tone than I remembered, having listened to the audio book read by the author, the vitriolic and bitter tone is quite surprising).

This offering, although similar in theme (rejection of supernatural religious claims in the Bible, or at minimum the facts that biblical criticism/scholarship have brought to light such as the virgin/maiden translation) is much more of a personal insight into the feelings of anxiety and doubt in faith by members of various congregations. Most of the text is excerpts of interviews with the doubting/disbelieving clergy themselves, and it is interesting, as I had never considered the position of someone preaching what they don’t believe.

The book also brings up some interesting tangential subjects such as when the clergy after finishing seminary are given an opportunity to preach to their congregations, and they start to introduce the types of questions or debates they had in school (eg literal vs symbolic readings of certain parts of the bible, or that the bible wasn’t literally the word of god, but was a written by people of a certain age and cultural tradition). It turns out people don’t want to hear debate or discuss why they believe what they believe.

I can see from the amount of reviews/ratings this book has compared to Dennett’s more high profile offerings it hasn’t been as widely read, but it is worth reading if you get the chance, as it offers an interesting insight into the impact of reason and evolution of thought connected to modern religion, by people directly involved in its spread and propagation.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing to learn that there's actually a website called the clergy project which is a gathering point for clergy members (priests, pastors, ministers, rabbis, etc.) who no longer believe in God – many of whom are still pastoring their congregations but are afraid to come out as atheists because they will lose income, family, prestige, friends, etc. This book focuses on interviews with a number of these clergy members and I like how it had a wide sample with many different Orthodox, Catholic and Christian denominations and even one Rabbi, and they all dealt with their loss of faith differently. Some of them were still in ministry, some had retired, some had quit, and they were all from different walks of life. There were also several seminary professors who were interviewed and a seminary student or 2 who dropped out and felt like they had "dodged a bullet." It seemed that education, in the form of reading material that contradicted or criticized Christianity is what led these people away from their faith, they started out wanting to learn about atheism or different belief systems, often in order to defend their faith from them, and they ended up being convinced by them. Another number of them started questioning when they could not explain the "unanswerable questions" such as "why do bad things happen to good people" to grieving parishioners, etc. Others were disillusioned actually in the seminary, when they were taught biblical history and archaeology and realize that the Bible was not written in the way they thought it was or did not meet what they thought it did. This was a really good book, though was a little slow at times, it had a lot of interesting perspective in it. I can't imagine being the pastor of a large church whose congregation did not know that I was an atheist or agnostic (or in some cases, just a believer in a kind of nebulous, impersonal force that they call God)

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The write-up of the follow-up study by Dan Dennett and Linda LaScola related to The Clergy Project. Thirty clergy/seminary professors/students who have either lost their faith completely or have changed aspects of their religious thought talk about their experiences going through such monumental personal change while undertaking the responsibility of leading their congregations/classrooms. The personal stories are illuminating and Dennett's philosophical, psychological, and sociological interjections are enlightening. How many clergy are teaching congregations without believing what they are saying, but unable to change jobs or move to another church because of their positions? How do they deal with this problem, morally and mentally? Can resources be developed to help them (such as the Clergy Project's private web page, where clergy can discuss their doubts/changes anonymously)? It's a worthwhile investigation.

[Jeff Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an eye opener as to the plight faced by some religious leaders. This could be a pastor or a priest or a bishop who joins the seminary with noble intentions of spreading the gospel. However some may change their world view in the seminary, based on the new information that they are learning about they Bible. They lose their faith because their new acquired knowledge goes contrary to what they were taught in Sunday school. Some are brave enough to drop out of school, while some persevere on the hope that everything will make sense with time.

These people live their lives in misery, caught between a rock and hard place. The rock is a life of lies, living in cognitive dissonance, preaching what you don't believe at all every Sunday and living with fear that they may be found out. The hard place is losing the benefits associated with being a church leader - source of livelihood from the church, a sense of community, lost friendships, the respect accorded to religious leaders etc. You are doomed in every which way which is sad.

The book touches on the differences and commonalities between the fundamental/literal and the liberal faiths and how they despise each other 🤦‍♂️etc.

It could be a 5 star book, but for some reasons I can't really put a finger to, I rate the book 3 stars. Not sure if it is the vocabulary of the book, the sentence structure, the heavy dosage of language used in religious circles and philosophy or professor Dennett's vocabulary. Either way I struggled for logical flow of information on some sections. Some content went over my head - I felt like I was reading something way above my pay grade 😂😂. I recon this could be different for different people.

Highly recommended.

[Philemon - · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite direction by Daniel Dennett and a forward by Richard Dawkins, this is a surprisingly even-handed collection of interview excerpts from clergy of all denominations who have experienced loss of faith in God. The interviewees' candor in exposing this taboo (for clergy) subject -- it was the first time many of them had talked to anyone about it -- is amazing, affecting, and enlightening.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A “NON-SCIENTIFIC” SURVEY OF THE ATTITUDES OF SEVERAL DOZEN INDIVIDUALS

Co-author Daniel Dennett wrote in the Introduction to this 2013 book, “This book is about men and women who entered the clergy with the best of motives and intentions and have come to recognize that they no longer hold the beliefs their parishioners think they do. Half of the people interviewed still have a congregation awaiting them each Sabbath, trusting them to speak the truth from the pulpit. They… have made different decisions about how to deal with their lack of belief in what they think somebody in their position ought to believe. The present study, made in collaboration with the eminent social worker and qualitative researcher Linda LaScola… Our main objective: to explore, through in-depth interviews, the disconnect between what closeted nonbelieving clergy believe and what they preach, and the impact it has on their personal lives, their congregations, and society.” (Pg. 1)

He continues, “All current and former clergy and seminary graduates were asked about their childhood religious experiences, their decision to become clergy (or seminarians), their experiences in the seminary (if applicable), and their changes in belief and its effect on them and the people around them… Linda asked two specific questions of the nonbelievers: ‘What have you gained as a result of your changes in belief?’ and ‘What have you lost?’ Their responses to these two questions comprise a section toward the end in the book.” (Pg. 4) He adds, “My collaboration with Linda has been my attempt to follow my own advice. Are the results ‘scientific’? Yes, in the important sense that we pursued our work with careful attention to the established methodological principles of research with human subjects, which always raises special problems.” (Pg. 9)

He acknowledges, “Linda and I don’t just acknowledge the limitations of our methodology … we wish to highlight them and stress that there is no feasible alternative if you want to study the experience of clergy who have to conceal their convictions… There are, of course, the occasional red flags of narcissistic recollection, of exaggerated self-pity or self-dramatization, a few tell-tale flashes of score-settling and gamesmanship, but… we eventually learned to recognize these motives. Another limitation of our study is that our sample is self-selected and… the farthest thing from a random sample. So no generalizations about clergy, or disbelieving clergy, or Baptist clergy, or liberal congregations is supported by our findings.” (Pg. 20)

A Lutheran pastor named Carl told them, “If I could have a completely candid conversation with Marcus Borg, where he could be safe to answer, I’d like to ask him, ‘Do you believe in God at all?’ And I don’t mean that as a hostile question. Part of me would be comforted if he said, ‘No, this is a philosophical system. This is a system of finding our way through this world. But ultimately there is no sort of supernatural or cosmic order…’ I’d like to ask Borg how he had managed to keep his sanity with all of his writing and his teaching. He seems like a very mystical guy, but at times it does seem to me like he’s purring it on so that he can still have a voice in the Church.” (Pg. 35-36)

Of three professors at seminaries, they note, “A delicate task confronts the professors. Their students arrive at seminary with their heads buzzing with fervent aspirations and unrealistic expectations, and it falls to the faculty to bring them down, gently but firmly… And just like that, many of these students take their first firm steps into the world of systematic hypocrisy that will surround them for the rest of their career in the clergy. What else can they do? Abandon their dreams on the spot?... It appears that the students don’t have to be warned about not divulging what they’re being taught.” (Pg. 83-84)

They outline, “We found, among out interviewees, four more or less distinct reactions, in varying degrees, to the seminary experience: (1) Fascination with and enthusiasm for the religious knowledge and insights they were gaining; (2) a deeply troubled sense of exposure to the ambiguities and complexities of religious history and thought; (3) a recognition of the seeds of doubt that would trouble them later in their careers; and (4) an emphasis on diligence in pursuing their coursework, without much analysis or judgement.” (Pg. 98)

They note, “None of the clergy in the study described themselves as burned out as a result of moving from belief to nonbelief. They had been troubled, anxious, depressed along the way; however… we gather that they also felt liberated, even thrilled, to be out of the bind of belief… it also invigorates them, making burnout a nonissue… So perhaps the studies on clergy are correct not to include lack of belief as a cause.” (Pg. 140)

They explain, “Twenty-six participants in the present study were sked what they had gained and what they had lost as a result of changing their religious beliefs… Much of the discussion preceding these questions pertained to the difficulties and pain that these nonbelievers had experienced along the way… their reflections on what they had gained indicated that they felt freed from pretending to themselves, even though they continued to pretend to others. What they typically gained was intellectual honesty, a concomitant sense of relief that they were not fighting reality, and joy at being free from the constraints of beliefs that no longer made sense to them. What they typically lost was a certain comfort and closeness with colleagues and family, a sense of being eternally cared for.” (Pg. 174)

Dennett asserts, “I have been asking defenders of sophisticated theology for a reading list of works they are prepared to defend as intellectually bracing and honest, but I have yet to have my challenge met. I am tempted to conclude that they have realized… that they, too, have adopted a double standard, letting pass as deep thought work that is actually just obscure.” (Pg. 224)

He concludes, “Are these reflections on religion offensive? They concern topics that many people would rather leave unexamined, but unlike most earlier criticisms of religious they do not point a finger of blame… there need be no intelligent designers to be the proper targets of our anger when we find ourselves victimized by ‘social cells,’ like the church… The structures themselves can arise innocently, out of good intentions, and gradually evolve into social mechanisms that perpetuate themselves quite independently of the intentions and values of their constituent parts… Some of these agents, the clergy who must confront the deluge and information and attendant curiosity on a daily basis, are showing signs of strain, suggesting that the task facing religions everywhere is only going to become more difficult.” (Pg. 230)

This book will be of keen interest to those looking for studies of the modern clergy and other religious professionals/students.

[Brittney · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I can appreciate the difficulties and cognitive dissonance revealed in this qualitative research, the writing had an obvious slant, as predicted, and did not leave much room for readers to consider other alternatives, such as doctrinal issues that could potentially lead to the noted struggles. Incidentally, many of the concepts with which these clergy members struggled fell within the Calvinist stream of thinking. This study did not have a broad enough sample of those from a Wesleyan background to act as a comparison.

In this vein, the study was also lacking in its understanding of its views of Christianity, classifying views as primarily literal or liberal, while only briefly touching on academic theology. Even that sample was narrow, however, with no mention of open theism, process theology, etc. While I understand the reasoning for why this study is narrow (difficulty in locating willing participants, for one), it seems that this reasoning is also, in part, a way of hiding behind a smokescreen of inadequate and slanted theological knowledge.

Additionally, there was a conspiratorial tenor that occurred when discussing seminary, which promoted its own circular logic: many clergy members began to doubt their beliefs in seminary, but there is an unspoken understanding that they cannot voice their reasons for disbelief to others outside seminary (at least not at length, or not in this book). Thus, apparently, the only way to truly understand a lack of belief would be to become a minister (which requires, for believers, a call to ministry). The rest of us are conveniently steered toward atheistic literature, including additional books by the author of this book, Dan Dennett.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caught in The Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind is the collected comments of a sample of individuals who concluded that the term 'god' had for them no relevance. It represents what might be a growing trend on not only congregants but clergy coming to a crisis of faith and resolving the conflict by leaving not only the pastorate but the faith.

I find it important in terms of our current cultural evolution and the changes occasioned in our society to familiarize myself with the reasoning of men and women who had spend the first n years of their life in the Bible—and may even have sensed a calling to serve God—and then left it all behind for other pursuits.

Many ideas common to christian vocabulary now need redefining: hope, ethics/morals, the goals of this life among them. These individuals call christians 'literalists' (based on the 6 day theory of creation). The Bible is to them at best a collection of metaphors with practical 'this-life' applications. At worse, they are now viewed as fables.

Dennett and LaScola are confessing atheists who are adept at researching the thoughts of such a group without poisoning the waters with too much personal bias.

As a christian, myself, this was one of many books I have read to open my eyes wide to what thoughts are being passed around outside the church.

It is an important read for all christians who disown the theory that we compartmentalize our faith. We are open to hearing what others have to say and when all is said and done, our line of reasoning supports our faith rather than kills it.

[Susan Rainwater · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the end, Dennett seems to want to preserve the liberal church as a sort of combination social club and do-gooder organization, with the Bible being a sort of inspirational mythology. Because the book focuses entirely on the clergy, it does not examine how the folks in the pews feel about this. Having, as a child, attended a church that took this approach, I know first hand how empty the "be good" approach is. So, no, I don't think Dennett's wishful thinking makes sense.

It does seem to me that the seminaries themselves could fix some of the problems Dennett is describing with two measures.

First, treat seminary as a post-graduate program, requiring that the students first get an undergraduate degree in something else. Many of the disillusioned clergy seem to have gone from high school straight to seminary with no real academic background. Getting a degree in social work, psychology, or history might be a good place to start, and would give the person something to fall back on. It would also give them the tools to deal with the material being presented in seminary.

Second, as with psychology, require that the candidate undergo a year of psychotherapy before entering seminary, or concurrent to their first year. If the clergy is in a position where they can't be honest with anyone about what they believe, here's a way to change that.

I do think, from a listening point of view, that the "you knows" could have been excised from a lot of the quoted material without doing harm to the quotes.

[Andrej Drapal · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an avid reader of Richard Dawkins early work and almost all work of Daniel Dennet, I was deeply disturbed by this book. The presupposition is that faith is the only tie that links clergy to their institutions. should that be true, religion would really be exceptional, but is not. Faith is universal presupposition for all literally professions - but only one of. A scientist can lose faith in science, a doctor in medicine and so on. Each profession with a mission at least partially rests on faith.
Placing a long list of those that lost faith in their religion makes no sense though because it would be a piece of news if no one would lose faith.
What I was really disturbed about in this book is the fact, that Dan Dennett is still developing memetics (while Richard Dawkins totally abandoned a field that he "discovered" back in 1976) and at the same time does not see the validity of religion through his own theory. If you are true memologist you can not but understand the complexity and you can never take reductionism as holding any truth. Dennet play here linear logic based on reductionism of science. And that is pathetic for a person that gave us so many excellent insights into memetics, neuroscience and philosophy.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I liked it so much that when I was done I immediately went back and re-read it again. [Contrast that with Dennett's "Breaking the Spell", which frustrated me with its "all questions, no answers" format... but I guess that's how philosophy works.].

I was raised in Mormonism, which has unpaid lay clergy at the local level. Mormon high school and college students also go through a watered-down version of theological seminary (they actually call is Seminary at the HS level and Institute of Religion at the college level - but it is almost 100% faith-promoting. Virtual nothing controversial, like biblical textural criticism, is ever presented. Certainly nothing negative about the Mormon church is ever presented in Seminary/Institute. Also, LDS Seminary and Institute teachers are not independent educators -- they are hired by, trained by, and paid by the LDS church.)

Because of that feature of Mormonism (Seminary/Institute in HS and college & serving in lay clerical roles in my local congregation), I experienced a *tremendous* amount of empathy with the professional clergy who shared their faith journeys in this book.

[Everton Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have often wondered what happens if a member of the clergy lost faith, or a politician loses belief in their party's ideology. Do they continue to pretend and spout the same doctrines or would they feel compelled to come clean, and what does that imply as far as their social life and income, because it is a job after all. This book describes a survey of several current and former members of Christian and Jewish clergy who have lost their faith. It runs the gamut from the seminary student who quit on the first day of class, to some pastors who have decided to continue in the ministry because they are so close to retirement. Not a fun read but interesting. It serves to confirm something I have always suspected, and I do suspect that there are many more than the few that were involved in this study. The participants are allowed to speak in their own words and explain how and why they lost their faith, and the difficult situation they find themselves in, including the aforementioned social and income considerations.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fairly bland look at various religious leaders who have lost their faith. Though the work that Dennett and others are doing is worthwhile, it doesn't lend itself to a terribly compelling book. The insight that these people give is somewhat limited and I found to be of little interest. The foreword by Richard Dawkins makes me think I'd be better off reading one of his books on the subject. As the second book by Dennett I've read I just don't have much confidence in what he says. His arguments are not convincing enough to make me want to explore any more thoughts he may have on the issue.

Religious people interested in why people who once believed what they do but don't any longer may find interest in some of the rationales provided in these pages. Similarly people who have lost their faith may appreciate seeing how others did the same. As someone who never had a particularly strong faith, didn't go through a similar process and doesn't need to be convinced of the problems with organized religion, this just wasn't for me.

[Lady Brainsample · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this book. The actual unedited interview parts were great, but the editorializing of the authors of the studies was not that great. I didn't realize before picking up the book that this was about a study conducted by some very vocal atheists.
As a believer, it is disconcerting that many of the respondents said that even many of those at seminary teaching them didn't believe what they were then going out and preaching to their congregations.
Would have also liked to have seen at least one evangelical in there, but since it was voluntary and self-selecting, can't blame the authors.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an important book, but my rating reflects the fact that there’s a much bigger elephant in the room—belief. Both atheists and believers indulge in it. As human beings we can’t escape it. I know that wasn’t the point of the original study that prompted this book, but with a philosopher as brilliant as Daniel Dennett, it was a real missed opportunity to examine belief itself. The book is about clergy who’ve lost their faith. It’s based on a sociological survey and has interviews with the subjects of the study.

A confession: I taught in a Christian seminary for many years and I would have fit this study. They interview clergy, ex-clergy, and seminary students, but no seminary professors. At the end (and it does go on a bit) they point out that seminary is generally the point at which these doubts begin. It bothered me a bit that the book has that “atheists know better” feel to it. I understand that, believe me, I do, but belief is a much more slippery eel than they let on. It changes as long as your brain still functions and new knowledge enters. I blog about this aspect of it here: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.

It is an important book because the church has long looked away from the truth that many leaders know: the “standard belief” in God is something that most people don’t examine. When they do, uncomfortable things can happen. I attended seminary and I taught in seminary. I was on the inside. There is a lot more that could be said here, but this book is an important first step.

[Hayes Brenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a weird choice for me, but I've been reading some Daniel Dennett for class and this book caught my eye as an interesting read.
It was certainly interesting and compelling, and very sad. It's a very illuminating journey behind the very people who preach to the masses having a lack of faith themselves, and very illustrative of how contemporary organized religion works.
Maybe most interesting is looking at "liberal" churches and synagogues, who try to rectify the knowledge that Biblical stories are clearly not true while also still holding on to faith. It made me realize this was exactly what my Synagogue tried to do growing up, acknowledging evolution while still worshiping God. But it's kind of an untenable solution: trying to have your cake and eat it too is contradictory, no matter how well-meaning it is.

[Abner Huertas · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's like for a preacher, priest or someone in the clergy to stop believing and to keep on her duties?

The Clergy Project made an incredible study among people in the clergy who stop believing. They found out the reasons of they disbelief, why they kept in the culprit, and what are they feelings about it.

There are many pastors and priest in culprits that don't believe, but they keep in there because they don't know what else to do. They suffer from cognitive dissonance when preaching something they think isn't true.

One thing is clear about these people, they have deep contradictory feelings about it.

A recommended book.

[Becki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting study of dozens of pastors and religious leaders who self identify as "non-believers" while still in the pulpit. (This book is a follow-up to the earlier study.)

I appreciated the variety and nuance of this study. The pastors and leaders crossed a wide range of denominations, (including Jewish, pentecostal, Mormon, etc) that run the gamut from literal to liberal viewpoints.

Some of those studied were in agony over the double life that they lived, others felt like they could continue to "make change from the inside". All struggled with believing they weren't being true to themselves.

An interesting look into a phenomenon much more common than many realize.

[Cheryl Beseler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent read summarizing a qualitative study of pastors who find themselves coping with losing their faith. It is an inside perspective of the disparity between what is taught in sermons and what is taught in seminary. Holding on to a literal interpretation is becoming a monumental challenge given the Biblical scholarship and archeology of the past 100 years. How this translates between seminary and being a faith leader is tackled in this interesting perspective on a topic not many people ever probably consider. What happens when a faith leader starts thinking critically about what they are teaching?

[Ari Damoulakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a way this book is depressing, but also very interesting.
It is more of a very interesting study, a sociological survey.
Just don’t feel like reviewing because still shows how little we all know.
On the other hand, reading it makes one more sure that the eternal hell God is hopefully incredibly unlikely.
Now for our song.
I often wonder, because no one has ever given me feedback, do you enjoy it that I do put a song with the reviews?
Anyway this one’s nice and jolly Turkish song.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jTahl_n...

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book that I didn't have the patience to finish. Conversations with many preachers who either stopped believing but kept their positions or left the church entirely. What was surprising was the number of seminary teachers who don't believe and are teaching would-be preachers about nuance and metaphor, while the seminary students have never considered the fact that there might be something other than black and white. Interesting, especially for the questioner.

[Megan S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening read. Religious, spiritual and non-religious alike could all read this book and take away something valuable - humanizing the clergy. As an ex-Evangelical this was both heart wrenching (so many clergy unable to truly process the questions leading to and from deconversion) and heart-warming (so many clergy wanting to simply make the world a better place and being brave enough to leave behind harmful aspects of supernaturalism). Definitely worthwhile and an easy read.

[Matthew Hullinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the stories from this book could have been taken directly from my own struggle with faith. I think it should stand to show just how human the people behind the pulpit are. If you are religious and go to church regularly, there is a decent chance that the man who stands before you, preaching from the Bible, is actually a nonbeliever.